Sleater-Kinney

Biography

Like many a great band, Sleater-Kinney inhabited their time so thoroughly it took an extended hiatus to realize the extent of their legacy. In many respects, they were the defining American indie rock band of the second half of the '90s, the group that harnessed all the upheaval of the alt-rock explosion of the first part of the decade and channeled it into a vigorous mission statement. It was not incidental that Sleater-Kinney were an all-female band — prior to S-K, co-leaders Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein both started playing music in Northern Pacific riot grrrl bands and their feminism and queercore roots were deeply embedded in their rock & roll — but calling them the best female rock band of their generation is too confining. By every measure, Sleater-Kinney were one of the best bands of their time, capturing the tenor of their times and then expanding at a rapid clip, delivering record after record that redefined their music without abandoning their punk rock (or political) ideals. Their hot streak began once drummer Janet Weiss joined for 1997's Dig Me Out and it ran until 2005's The Woods, after which they entered an “indefinite hiatus” that lasted nearly a decade. During those ten years of silence, Tucker pursued a solo career, Weiss drummed with ex-Pavement leader Stephen Malkmus' new-millennial band the Jicks, and, most surprisingly, Brownstein turned into a mainstream star due to her starring role on Portlandia, the comedy sketch show she created with fellow indie rock refugee Fred Armisen in 2011. Portlandia helped push Brownstein and Sleater-Kinney into a mainstream they had never known, so when they returned in 2015 with the brand-new full-length album No Cities to Love, it was welcomed by their largest audience yet.